Skip to main content

Apple’s iPad Pro tablets are now $50 more expensive after quiet price hike

As the spotlight begins to fade on Apple’s major product announcements, a few eagle-eyed observers have spotted unannounced prices rises for most of its iPads Pro tablets.

The tech giant has slapped $50 onto the cost of its 256GB and 512GB Pro devices, pushin

Recommended Videos

g the price of the 10.5-inch, 256GB model to $799, while the 512GB version will now set you back $999. The price tag on the 64GB model remains unchanged at $649.

For the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, the increase leaves the 256GB model with a $949 price tag, while the 512GB one now costs $1,149. Again, the 64GB version stays the same at $799.

The cost of the 256GB and 512GB cellular iPad Pros have also gone up by $50, and now retail for $130 more than the prices listed above.

The increases will come as a bit of a blow if you’ve been saving up to buy one of the affected iPads, though you might also want to consider checking out Apple’s current listings for refurbished iPads, which can offer great value for money.

Why the hike?

Although Apple has made no comment on the new prices, it’s thought to be down to the ongoing supply squeeze on NAND and DRAM memory chips used for tablets, smartphones, and other computing devices.

As noted by 9to5Mac, Apple’s chief financial officer, Luca Maestri, touched on the issue during an earnings call in the spring, saying the company had “started to experience some level of cost pressure on the memory side, particularly on NAND and DRAM.”

Maestri added, “The impact on NAND and DRAM will continue to be there and we expect it to be there.”

The squeeze has been exacerbated by tech manufacturers recently buying up memory chips in huge quantities. They’ve done this partly in anticipation of increased demand linked to Apple’s latest handsets that were unveiled on Tuesday, September 12, namely the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, which will use the sought-after memory chips.

Apple and other large tech companies are unlikely to be hit by the shortage, Reuters said in June, adding that some larger firms have shifted to six-month supply agreements with chip makers to ensure they have enough for their own products.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
The iPad doesn’t need AI, but Apple must fix something else
Top view of the rear shell on the 11th Gen iPad.

I just finished testing the new entry-level iPad, and so far, I am fairly impressed by the tablet. You can’t get a better value than this slate for $349. From the external hardware to the innards, there is hardly any alternative from the Android side that can deliver a superior experience.
This year, Apple delivered a couple of surprises, in addition to the expected chip upgrade. You now get twice the storage for the same ask, and the RAM has also been bumped up. In a nutshell, it’s faster, better at multi-tasking, and without any storage headaches, even if your budget is tight.
Apple, however, hasn’t fixed the software situation with iPadOS, which continues to bother with its fair share of quirks in tow. This year, however, the software gulf is even wider between the baseline iPad and every other tablet in Apple’s portfolio. Stage Manager has been the big differentiator so far, but in 2025, we have another deep chasm.

A good riddance with AI

Read more
Is the base iPad too popular to get Apple Intelligence?
iPad (2025) colors.

In an age where Apple is all about its AI powered Apple Intelligence, it seems odd that it hasn't crammed it into the base model iPad (2025). Why that is may have now become clearer.

On the surface there's the obvious hardware issue of the base iPad simply not packing enough punch to keep up with the AI. But Apple would have known this in advance, so it presumably chose to leave this model of iPad a little behind in terms of AI upgrades.

Read more
Forget the base iPad, the iPad Mini is my go-to tablet recommendation right now
Prakhar holding the iPad Mini 7.

I bought the 11-inch iPad Air 4 soon after its launch in 2020. But the excitement wore off after a few days. I kept it in the drawer and only used it for testing new iPadOS developer builds for the next three years. I couldn’t find a use case for a tablet in general—that is until I shifted to the 7th-generation iPad Mini.

Six months after launch, the new iPad Mini remains my travel companion for browsing and on-the-go entertainment. It’s the best iPad for me.
A complete iPad experience without any accessories

Read more